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Chappy Town Column: Nov. 8

Sad news has reached us from Sally Sears Sinclair. She mourns the loss of her grandson Scott Graber. A full obituary can be found online at the Hudson Hub Times. His family suggests that donations be made in Scott’s memory to the Hudson Fire Department Association, 40 South Oviatt street, Hudson, OH 44236, to be distributed by the family to Scott’s passions. Our hearts go out to Sally and her family.

This is the yellowest fall that I can remember. The trees seem to be holding onto their colors for weeks longer than usual. Some have suggested that it’s the drought. The water level in Brine’s Pond is so low that the white rock on the eastern shore whose top normally barely breaks the surface is now high and dry on the muddy beach.

The On Time II has been quite busy with the traffic this past week. During the high tides, the concrete trucks, dump trucks and lumber trucks tend to show up. These often have to travel singly because of weight restrictions and the shorter length of the On Time II. I have noticed, however, that even on weekdays there are only a few vehicles in line on the Edgartown side right up until 8 a.m. Check the ferry webcams. In our efforts to get three vehicles aboard the ferry each trip we occasionally wave up a small car farther back in the waiting line on the Chappy side. If you are behind a trailer or a large truck, leave a little room in front so that you can pull out of line if the opportunity arises that we can fit you on. Please note that this only applies to the Chappy side where there is plenty of room to get past the other vehicles safely. This doesn’t work on the Edgartown side since the street is too narrow. The ferry captain and crew will never ask you to pass on Daggett Street. If someone in line ahead of you tells you to go around, please don’t do it. We don’t want you to scrape up your car just to save a few minutes.

The On Time III is getting lots of new fiberglass covering on her bilge keels and hull. Once Erik and George started removing the small sections of fiberglass that had come loose from the wood, it made sense to do a very thorough job since the next opportunity will be two years from now. One of the propeller shafts spent a week in Fairhaven getting new cutlass bearing sleeves. The guys have been putting in long days to take advantage of the favorable temperatures and lack of rain. Hopefully, weather permitting, On Time III will go back in the water in a couple of weeks.

By the time you read this, the big sea-going barge will have probably overcome it’s delays and be docked at the ferry point to load up and haul away the hundreds of tons of beams, blocking and hydraulic dollies from the Schifter house moving project. Expert House Movers have used the waiting time to stage lots of heavy stuff at the point, which will hasten the loading of the barge.

Dependable sources tell me that NStar has been installing fiber optic cable in the underground conduits along Chappaquiddick Road as well as in the conduit running under the harbor. I’m puzzled by this sudden flurry of activity after the struggle to get Comcast interested. Maybe our local Comcast CEO read Brad’s query in the Chappy column a few weeks back and saw the light.

The next potluck supper is scheduled for Wednesday, Nov. 20. Appetizers begin at 6 p.m. with dinner at 6:30. Fran and Bob Clay will be the hosts. Hope to see you there.

Keep in mind that the first potluck dinner next month is dedicated to appreciating the Chappy Ferry captains and crew. That’s Wednesday, Dec. 4.

The Chappy Community Center welcomes all to the annual open house and crafts fair on Saturday, Nov. 30. The CCC 2014 calendars will be on sale.

Looking at November of my 2013 CCC calendar reminds me of a particular day a couple of years back. Tim Leland’s photo shows the flooding of the road to the swimming beach parking lot at the time that the Katama opening migrated to Chappy and began to tear into Wasque. Storm-driven waves washed over the dunes and flooded the now long gone marsh. The first inundation took no more than an hour and left several cars stranded in the parking lot on the far side of the seemingly impassable watery barrier. As the gathering crowd watched the ever-larger waves roll through the marsh, we gasped and pointed in unison as an SUV came to life, turned onto the flooded road and headed slowly into the gradually deepening floodwater. We all held our breath as the water rose higher and higher up the sides of the vehicle until midway across, the foaming wave it was pushing ahead momentarily washed up onto the hood. As it climbed the steeper incline on our side of the newly formed moat, water ran off of the vehicle as if it were a submarine doing an emergency surfacing like you see in the movies. The SUV came to a halt on level ground, the windows so fogged up on the inside that the operator was not visible. The driver’s door suddenly flew open followed by a cascade of water. Out stepped Terry Dangel, his sneakers filled with salt water. Applause spread through the crowd. I recall that he bowed slightly and gave a little wave to the crowd.

Though his suspenseful performance paled when compared to the grand entertainment being provided by Mother Nature, we appreciated the element of comic relief.